


White

by saltylikecrait



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based on a True Story, F/M, Snow, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-03 20:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20459084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: During an unfortunate month of February, Finn and Rey learn that sometimes the greatest of enemies are the natural elements.





	White

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Finnrey Friday! This one was based off of a personal experience and why I'm not fond of snow.

“This snowstorm doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon,” sighed Finn as he scrolled down the 10-day forecast on his weather app.

Rey peered behind the blinds of her apartment’s front window and heaved a heavy sigh. “Great. Just great.” She ground her lower jaw. “Not a store for miles and we get a freak snowstorm at the very end of winter.”

“Is this common around here?” Finn asked. He was new to the area but didn’t expect to see this much snow in the middle of a high desert. The earlier months of winter had been relatively nice and his neighbors told him that they get snow on occasion but not every year. With how warm it had been, most of the locals had been in agreement that it was unlikely to see more than a brushing of frost this year.

Then, in the first weekend of February, a winter weather warning had been posted for the entire region. Finn hitched a ride with Rey when she got off work to stock up on groceries and a promise that the highway was usually well-traveled and clear even in snow so that he wouldn’t have to worry too much over running out of food. The next day, as predicted, the small town of Jakku saw the first flakes dance through the air.

High winds came Saturday, knocking snow off roofs and blowing piles against houses. At least the power hadn’t gone out yet. Knock on wood.

Finn had tried to make the short walk home from Rey’s apartment after watching the latest _Oceans_ movie with her, but he almost slid down her staircase and the winds were so strong that he was struggling just to make a step forward. Seeing this, Rey had run back outside to tell him to stay the night with her.

But the next morning they woke up to find that they were snowed in. The snow went above Finn’s ankles and he sunk in when he tried to step down in it. They shoveled the driveway for two hours and barely scraped enough snow away from the front of the garage to open it.

So Finn stayed Saturday, and the next day…

* * *

It wasn’t that he would call Rey a hoarder, but she always seemed to have more than enough of whatever was needed. When he stayed the night that Saturday, she took him into her garage and found a bin with extra toothbrushes that she had accumulated over time and anything else that he might need. There was another bin full of packaged rations that he used to eat when he was in the army, the kind that were more like energy bars and packed a ton of calories in them. When he brought them up, Rey just shrugged and said, “Just in case.”

Well, if this kept up, it might be one of those times. 

The next morning he woke up, brushed his teeth, and moved the blinds to see if there were any improvements to the weather.

“Ahhh!” he cried out, toothbrush still in his mouth, and backed away from the window, wide-eyed with terror.

Rey peeked her head out her bedroom door frame, just pulling on a warmer sweater to wear over her t-shirt. “What’s wrong?”

Finn ran to the bathroom to spit out his toothpaste before returning.

“There are spiders huddling on the window, Rey. _Huddling.”_

She walked over to the window to investigate, frowning at the three large brown spiders. “There are ants too,” she observed as she looked down at the overhang of the frame. 

“But it’s winter!” exclaimed Finn. “Shouldn’t they all be… hibernating or dead or something?”

“They’re trying to stay warm,” said Rey. “Growing up, I never used to see ants in the winter. Now I see them year-round.” She pressed her hand up against her forehead and massaged it like she had a headache at the thought. “I hope this doesn’t mean that they’ve laid eggs in the walls. I’m going to have to call an exterminator when the weather gets better…”

Then, she went to the kitchen to brew them coffee. Handing Finn a mug from her collection of drinkware with characters from their favorite sci-fi series, she poured the warm liquid in. He noted the blue and white domed robot on his mug before taking a drink. 

“At least they aren’t black widows,” she mused after taking a sip.

Finn’s eyes widened again. “There are _black widows_ here? No one told me that!”

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Rey soothed. “You mainly find them out in barns and old sheds. People rarely get bitten.”

Even with those facts, Finn spent the rest of the day glancing at every crack and crevasse in quiet horror, looking for creatures that never used to strike his daily thoughts and sleeping with Rey’s spare comforter over his head. Just in case.

* * *

“Goddammit!”

Finn leaned out the doorway with Rey to see that more snow had piled overnight. All their work from the last couple of days to clear out the driveway had been for nothing. 

He glanced at a text message that had just popped up on his phone. “Well, we don’t have to go into work,” he announced. “Site’s closed.”

"I figured,” said Rey. “It’ll be below freezing inside the red zone.”

But Finn still had to work. With his job, he did the administration duties for the company that he and Rey worked at and often got to work from home with his laptop if he needed to. It was a nice perk that came with living in the middle of nowhere and the pay was far better than what he could find back in the city. The job had stayed open for months because it couldn’t be filled until Finn came along. 

“I’m going to shovel some more,” Rey announced.

For two hours, Finn called around to reschedule any material deliveries that were planned for the next two days. Most of the shipping companies were also postponing deliveries, but there were a few odd ones that insisted they kept on schedule.

“If we can get to your job site,” one scheduler complained, “why can’t you?”

“The entire site is closed, ma’am,” he said, trying to keep his frustration in check. “You won’t be able to get through the gates.”

It took ten minutes to convince the company to reschedule for the next day… assuming that Tuesday the site would be open. He could always call back in the morning to cancel if he had to.

“Rey,” he called out, “you’ve been out here for hours. Come in and get warm.”

Huffing, she walked back up the stairs. “I made some progress,” she told him.

He smiled. “Good. Not sure when you’ll have to be on site next, but it would be nice to get to the store if we need to.” Glancing at the driveway, he saw that Rey had pushed over walls of snow to the sides, getting about halfway down the concrete path. Maybe when she went out again, he could help her and they could get the rest away. The forecast for tomorrow was predicting rain, which might make the roads too dangerous to drive but also might help wash away the snow.

Her ears were red and he noticed her rubbing them to warm them. “We need to get you a hat,” he observed.

“I hate hats.”

“Just for when it’s cold, Rey.”

“It’s never this cold!”

This time, Finn was the one to make them warm drinks. They sat quietly, lost in thought.

“You know,” he began with a laugh, “my mom once told me that there was a reason so many babies were born in the fall. I think I get it now.” 

Rey scrunched her nose. “Oh, gross,” she said. “I’m a fall baby. Do not need that mental image.”

Their laughter echoed through Rey’s kitchen.

* * *

“Oh, thank god!” Rey cheered when she got back home the next day. “This is finally over!”

The roads were slushy, but by late Tuesday morning, Rey had been able to get on the roads to do a half-day of work. It sounded like a lot had gotten done, though Finn had stayed at her house to work that day. He had ventured to check on his home to find that the driveway and porch were covered with snow and vowed with Rey to return later to try to shovel it.

There was a more pressing issue at hand, though.

“I need to go to the store,” Rey explained. “Get some food and…” she looked at Finn pointedly, “get some things to prevent any fall babies.”

Finn might have snorted if it weren’t for the fact that his brain had suddenly short-circuited.

* * *

“Oh, are you _kidding_ me?”

By Wednesday morning, the snow had started again, covering the ground again with very large flakes. 

The driveway needed to be shoveled again…

Finn sipped his coffee as he stared at the scene. Rey was tugging on her hair with frustration. 

“Well, at least we got to store when we could.”


End file.
